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Law

Congolese Warlord Sentenced By Court In The Hague

Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 6:52 am

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

It's been a decade since the first permanent International Criminal Court was created. Today, it delivered its first-ever sentence. The Hague-based court ordered a Congolese warlord to serve 14 years in prison. Thomas Lubango was convicted in March of recruiting and using children as soldiers in his militia. During a four-year conflict, Lubango forced children to fight for him, taking up arms and machetes which they used to slaughter Lubango's tribal enemies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Presiding Judge Adrian Fulford said the sentence reflected the need to protect children in wartime. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.